Names of Bulawayo townships and how they came about!

King Lobhengula chose this
name because there was some
opposition to him succeeding his
father Mzilikazi. Two turbulent
years passed before he was
enthroned. It was so named to
express Lobhengula's feelings
that he was the one meant to be
killed
(ngingobulawayo ). It was
common at that time to refer to
Bulawayo as 'kobulawayo
umtanenkosi.' Mbiko Masuku wanted Nkulumane to be King
instead of Lobhengula- his wife
was
sister to Nkulumane.
MZILIKAZI
named after the founding king of the Ndebele nation King
Mzilikazi.
Makhokhoba, was derived from
the
actions of Mr Fallon who used to
walk around with a stick. The name come from
umakhokhoba, the
noise of the stick ko-ko-ko made
by the old man who stayed
there.
BARBOURFIELDS was named after a
Bulawayo mayor H R Barbour
NGUBOYENJA
was named after one of King
Lobhengula's sons who was
whisked out of Rhodesia by Cecil
John Rhodes to give them
western
education in the Cape Province.
MATSHOBANA
named after King Mzilikazi's father. Matshobana
was the son of Mangethe.
SIZINDA
was named after one of the
Ndebele villages called iSizinda,
at one time iSizinda village was
stationed where the present
township is site
IMINYELA
the township built for
men only was named after the tree
species that abounds in the
area.
MABUTHWENI
sometimes referred to
eZinkabini , there lived men who
were not supposed to bring in
their wives, frequent searches
were
carried out to flash out women.
Amabutho refers to conscripted men, ready to be trained as
soldiers during the heyday of
the
Ndebele State.
NJUBE
was named after one of the royal sons of Lobhengula, Njube
was the first to be born after
Lobhengula had become king.
He
alongside Nguboyenja were
taken to Cape by Rhodes in order that
there be no rallying point in
Matabeleland that could lead to
the
resuscitation of the Ndebele
mornachy. MPOPHOMA
was a favourite of
many residents in Bulawayo, it
provided a long term lease and
accomodated lodgers.
Mpophoma in isiNdebele refers to a
waterfall.
The name is derived from a
stream
further west which flowed
towards the Khami river and the stream
in question had a waterfall.
PHUMULA
was built further west and its
name captured the ongoing
struggles to gain longer and more
secure housing tenure for
Africans
in Bulawayo since the
Rhodesian laws stipulated that
town belonged to whites and Africans were to
live
in reserves hence Africans had
to
rest and phumula the struggles.
PHELANDABA became the name that
immortalised the struggles for
more secure tenure. The matter
(of
the struggle) is over, indaba
iphelile. Phelandaba became a prestigious township where big
names lived, Joshua Nkomo had
a
house there.
MAGWEGWE,
this suburb was named after King Lobhengula's senior
induna, Magwegwe Fuyana.
When
King Lobhengula fled north
under
attack from Cecil Rhodes' forces, Magwegwe was killed in place
of the king and his remains,
disguised
as those of King Lobhengula,
were
interred in a cave at Pashu in Binga.
LOBHENGULA
was named after the
last Ndebele monarch, the very
king who gave the name
koBulawayo. It was Lobhengula's
contested accession to the royal
throne that led to the name
koBulawayo. When soldiers
arrayed by Mbiko kaMadlenya
Masuku the Chief of Zwangendaba
fought him, King Lobhengula
would say 'ngingobulawayo .'
ENTUMBANE
comes from King
Mzilikazi's burial place, a small hill
off the old Gwanda road.
EMAKHANDENI
is a name that
derives from one of the four
generative villages at the time of king Mzilikazi. It was the
third to be
established following the
integration of the Dlodlos into
the
Ndebele State. A number of villages
were part of aMakhanda that is,
iNzwananzi, iNxa, iNdinana,
iNsinda and iNsingo..
Amakhanda was also
the place where amabutho were
undergoing millitary training.
Emakhandeni is the isiNdebele
name for Fort Rixon.
NKULUMANE,
the name derives from Nkulumane, King Mzilikazi's heir
apparent, Nkulumane was born
during the visit of Dr Robert
Moffart. By then King Mzilikazi
was
then resident at Mhlahlandlela where Pretoria stands today. Dr
Moffat was coming from
Kuruman
but that name was corrupted by
the Ndebele to Nkulumane.
EMGANWINI, the name derived from
aa tree found in the vicinity. The
marula tree is called umganu in
isiNdebele hence place name
given
in locative form. The last tree where traders and missionaries
from the south usually stopped
and outspanned their wagon
TSHABALALA
was the totem of King
Lobhengula's mother a woman of
Swazi extraction Fulatha
Tshabalala. This was also a
reason
to bar Lobhengula from
succeeding his father that Fulatha his
mother
was not a pure Nguni. After
ascending the throne,
Lobhengula
rightly treated his mother as the queen-mother.
FAMONA
was named
after one of Lobhengula's
daughters Mfamona but the
name was corrupted to Famona.
MAHATSHULA
bears the name of a
senior member of the Ndebele
royal circle, Mahatshula Ndiweni
who lived in the Nhlambabaloyi village.
KHUMALO
was named after the Royal Clan
of the Ndebele
LUVEVE
named after chief Luveve GWABALANDA
named after one of
the Ndebele Chiefs Gwabalanda
Mathe. During the heydays of
the
Ndebele State there was indunankulu, chief of chiefs and
under King Mzilikazi it was
Gwabalanda Mathe.
MALINDELA
was Lobhengula's
maternal grandmother, Fulatha Tshabalala's mother.